Trudeau announces $9B to support students — including a new $1,250 benefit

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gives an update on the government's measures to help Canadians with the effects of COVID-19 pandemic from Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on Mar. 23, 2020. Andrew Meade/iPolitics

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced $9 billion in new financial support for post-secondary students.

The new spending comes after the federal government faced weeks of pressure from students to extend help to those effectively shut out of summer work and ineligible for income support. Last week, a coalition of dozens of student groups called on Ottawa to extend eligibility for the $2,000-a-month Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).

Instead, Ottawa will create the new Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) that will provide $1,250 per month for eligible post-secondary students. The benefit, which covers May to August, will be worth $1,750 per month for students with dependents or living with a disability.

Trudeau said the CESB will cover current students, those planning to attend school in September and those who graduated in December 2019. Students still making up to $1,000 a month will also be eligible for the benefit, which is being offered through the Canada Revenue Agency.

A new Canada Student Service Grant will also provide between $1,000 to $5,000 for students who do volunteer work this summer to help in the fight against COVID-19. Trudeau also announced plans to create 76,000 summer jobs for students “in sectors that need an extra hand right now or that are on the frontline of this pandemic.”

The prime minister said the crisis has hampered the summer job market but Wednesday’s package will help to keep students afloat.

“Without a job, it could be hard to pay for tuition or the day-to-day basics…Even if monthly bills aren’t the concern, you may have been counting on the summer job for next year’s tuition or to get the right experience for your careers,” he said.

“For today, for the summer, for next year, we’re going to be there for you.”

As well, Ottawa will double Canada Student Grants payments, including up to $6,000 for full-time students and up to $3,600 for part-time students this year.

Student groups, such as Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) and the Quebec Student Union, praised Wedensday’s package. “Today’s annoucement is great news for any student dealing with financial hardship because of COVID-19,” said Adam Brown, chair of CASA.

Sofia Descalzi, national chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students, also welcomed the measures but said she’s concerned about international students’ ineligibility for the CESB and that benefit amounts won’t be enough to help students most in need.

“We fear for many that this will not be enough…and we’re especially concerned for student-parents,” she told iPolitics. Descalzi said Ottawa should increase the CESB to equal the CERB.

When asked why not make the CERB universal, Trudeau said his government’s focus has been on getting help to those who most need it.

“There are millions of Canadians who need help. There are others who do not need help. And we felt and we feel that targeting the maximum amount of help to the people who needed it quickly was the right way to begin to get through this process,” he said.

“That’s what we did with the Canada Emergency Response Benefit that is delivering that help to over eight million Canadians already.”

Descalzi said 2.1 million post-secondary students in Canada were facing financial pressure from rising educational costs prior to the crisis. She added that it’s a myth that all international students are wealthy, and many of them are now in a precarious position without a source of income.

Meanwhile, Ottawa announced Wednesday it is lifting the restriction that international students employed while in school can only work a maximum of 20 hours per week, provided they are employed in an essential service or function, such as health care, critical infrastructure, or the supply of food.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he was glad the Trudeau government has turned its focus toward helping students but that “another complicated system is not what students need and it comes weeks late.”

Singh added it makes no sense that a parent who is a student will get less through the CESB than a parent collecting the CERB. “Feeding your kids costs the same,” he said. The support of opposition parties in Parliament is needed to enact the new measures.

Eligibility for Canada student loans was also broadened Wednesday by removing student’s and spouse’s contribution requirements for 2020-21. As well, the maximum weekly amount for student loans was raised from $210 to $350. Ottawa put in place last month a six-month, interest-free moratorium on the repayment of Canada student loans.

The federal government will also use $291 million to extend expiring federal graduate research scholarships and postdoctoral fellowships, as well as to supplement existing federal research grants. Ottawa will also spend $75 million to support Indigenous students.